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Remembering the Unforgettable 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 |
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Introduction Have you ever forgotten something, I mean forgotten something very important? After stopping for gas in Montgomery, Alabama, a fellow by the name of Sam drove more than five hours before noticing he had left someone behind—his wife. So at the next town he asked the police to help get him in touch with her. Then Sam called his wife to tell her he was on his way back. He admitted with great embarrassment that he just hadn’t noticed her absence. If you tend to forget you are not alone. Everyone does at one time or another, according to Karen Bolla, a Johns Hopkins researcher. These are the things people most often forget:
Because we are so forgetful a whole industry has been created—Post-it notes, Franklin management materials, Day-Runners, and even a piece of string around one’s finger. The Lord knew that we are prone to forgetfulness as well, so He provided a reminder for us. The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the unforgettable. The bread, which symbolizes His body, reminds us of the unforgettable. The bread that we will receive today is a reminder, a reminder of his body. In Moscow’s Red Square is a building called the Lenin Mausoleum. In that building are the remains of Lenin, the founder and first leader of the Soviet Union, who died in 1924. His body is housed in a glass coffin. The room is kept at a constant 61 degrees to preserve his remains. It serves as a reminder to all Russians of the founder of the Great Revolution. In sum it was an idol erected in memory of the founder of modern Communism and Socialism. Jesus didn’t call His disciples to remember Him by preserving His body, and I am glad because it would become an icon, an idol men would worship. What He did do was give us a reminder of His body through the element of the bread. We don’t have to go to a tomb; instead, as we receive the bread, we remember His body. But what are we to remember as we think of His body? The bread reminds us that Christ identified with us (John 1:14;
Phil. 2:7, 8). (1) Christ identified with us in His incarnation. (2) Christ identified with us in His servanthood. (3) Christ identified with us in His death (Heb. 2:14–17). a. He didn’t come to live, He came to die. b. He didn’t come to die for Himself, but He came to die for us. The bread reminds us that Christ suffered for us (Is. 53). Why then did He suffer?
The bread reminds us that He loves us (John 15:13). After they partook of the bread as a reminder of His incarnation, His servanthood, and His death, He then gave them another reminder. The cup, which symbolizes His blood, reminds us of the unforgettable (11:25, 26). The cup reminds us that God is holy. The holiness of God uniquely describes Him and is the sum of all His other attributes. The holiness of God tells us that God is perfect, that He is separate from all He has created, and that there is no other remotely like Him. As Holy God he never sins, does wrong, or tolerates wrong. He is absolutely perfect! Throughout the Bible, we catch glimpses of His holiness. We catch a glimpse of it when the children of Israel stood at the foot of Mount Sinai. We catch a glimpse of it in the Tabernacle that God had the people build. We catch a glimpse of it in Isaiah’s encounter with the holiness of God in Isaiah 6. But all of these pale in comparison to the glimpse we get of God’s holiness in the cup. Nothing reminds us more of the holiness of God than this cup. His holiness demands that a price be paid for sin. Hebrews 9:22 says there has to be the shedding of blood. In the Old Testament, the blood of lambs and goats was shed, but in the New Testament it was the blood of His own Son. So holy is God that it meant the death of His one and only Son to pay in full our sin debt.
Conclusion The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the unforgettable! |
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